Single Leg Training

[deepsouthiron]

So as I’ve gotten older I naturally find myself working around nagging injuries and pain and I’m sure everyone can relate. I love to squat and will most likely always find a way to squat with heavy weight under a barbell. Having said that has anyone here incorporated unilateral movements as the primary movement for any length of time Not as an accessory movement but as the main lift. For example doing Bulgarian squats and progressing the overload and rep scheme just like you would barbell squats. I read a TNation ( I know I know) article by Ben Bruno where he did this for 15 months and had some dramatic results that carried over to his Barbell squat. I started doing these the other day as my main movement and needless to say they humbled me with how “imbalanced” I was and unstable on one leg. Looking for any first hand experience on this?

 

[malfeasance]

Single leg movements are awkward for me unless it is on a leg press. Lunges, lol!, I fall over. I have never done single leg training as the main movement, only as a follow up to squats and leg press, so I can't speak to the results.

With that having been said, I doubt anybody got huge thighs using one legged movements as the main exercise(s). It just seems somehow wrong.

 

[eery]

yeah, ive had split squats and unilateral legpresses as one of my main movements and it works well up to a certain point where you get too strong and get more wear and tear on knees/hips.

I wouldnt exclude bilateral movements, but maybe put them as exercise #3-5 later on in the session. Do a little bit of both.

 

[wsmwannabe]

I cannot answer from experience, but looking at Stefi Cohen using 70 lb dumbbells per hand to do BSS makes me think there's something to it. I think unilateral work is great, and may be exactly what you need. In strongman, unilateral work is used A LOT.

You could also perform single leg Hatfield squats if you want to use a bit of weight

 

[deepsouthiron]

yeah, ive had split squats and unilateral legpresses as one of my main movements and it works well up to a certain point where you get too strong and get more wear and tear on knees/hips.

I wouldnt exclude bilateral movements, but maybe put them as exercise #3-5 later on in the session. Do a little bit of both.

i think this is the approach I’ll take for a bit. I started out and was shaky as hell on one leg doing BSS but if I can progress awhile and make myself more stable at the same time why not.

 

[wsmwannabe]

i think this is the approach I’ll take for a bit. I started out and was shaky as hell on one leg doing BSS but if I can progress awhile and make myself more stable at the same time why not.

I am not "older" (only 33) but I found that once I started unilateral work, a lot of my joint pains went away and my balance greatly increased.

 

[deepsouthiron]

I am not "older" (only 33) but I found that once I started unilateral work, a lot of my joint pains went away and my balance greatly increased.

exactly what I’m hoping for as well. I’ll definitely add in some single leg hatfields as well once the stability comes along some.

 

[tgrusso78]

Any time I add BSS into a routine where I've not been doing it I get major DOMS and am quite humbled by how little I can do compared to what I think I should be able to do with good form.

 

[deepsouthiron]

Any time I add BSS into a routine where I've not been doing it I get major DOMS and am quite humbled by how little I can do compared to what I think I should be able to do with good form.

Yeah. Lunges and BSS get me more sore than any squatting ever does

 

[EazyE]

Single leg movements are awkward for me unless it is on a leg press. Lunges, lol!, I fall over. I have never done single leg training as the main movement, only as a follow up to squats and leg press, so I can't speak to the results.

With that having been said, I doubt anybody got huge thighs using one legged movements as the main exercise(s). It just seems somehow wrong.

I think that the single leg focus movements are more important for athletic training than bodybuilding overall. I don’t think that they will replace bilateral moves like squats and leg presses for bodybuilding hypertrophy requirements. Maybe a good secondary support move like RFE split squats is a good addition to a bodybuilding program but not the primary movement.